Mason-Rice

The main goal of the Mason-Rice Garden is to provide our students with with the opportunity to engage in hands-on, experiential learning in caring for a garden. Each grade level's garden bed connects with the curriculum, including science, social studies and ELA; kindergartners plant a "Stone Soup" garden, 1st graders plant a rainbow garden, 2nd graders plant flowers for butterflies, 3rd graders plant a Three Sisters garden with corn, beans and squash, 4th graders plant vegetables representing different cultural groups, and 5th graders plant colonial herbs. On our school-wide Planting Days, held in May, every student is provided with a seedling to plant. Throughout the growing season, teachers take their students out of the classroom and into the garden to draw, observe and marvel at the transformation of their tiny plants. In the summer months, our garden is a community space where families commit to tend and care for the garden, a week at a time.